Fantasy Football: Week 12 RB Rankings
Kevin Hanson joins SI for the 2019 season. His fantasy rankings have placed him in the Top 20 in each of the past two seasons among all the industry experts tracked by FantasyPros.com, and he has been in the Top 25 in six of the past eight years.
Check out more of Kevin’s rankings: QB, WR, TE, DST, flex and kicker.
RB Start of the Week: Jaylen Samuels, Pittsburgh Steelers (at CIN)
With James Conner (shoulder) set to miss Sunday’s game, Jaylen Samuels is an upside-RB2 play in Week 12.
Samuels hasn’t been efficient—2.6 yards per carry and 5.5 yards per reception—this season, but he has and should be heavily involved as a receiver in Week 12. Despite missing a couple of games and Pittsburgh having its bye, Samuels has 32 catches (seventh-most among RBs) on 38 targets (sixth-most) since Week 4.
The Bengals run defense has allowed 5.0 YPC, the third-highest in the NFL, and the most rushing yards per game (167.0). They have also surrendered the fourth-most fantasy points to the position.
Meanwhile, JuJu Smith-Schuster, who leads the team in targets (60) this season, is not expected to play, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Given his pass-catching role, Conner’s absence and the soft matchup, Samuels has a high floor and ceiling this week.
RB Sit of the Week: Brian Hill, Atlanta Falcons (vs. TB)
Who doesn’t care about your fantasy team? Brian Hill.
Who should be on your bench in Week 12? Brian Hill.
Taking over for an injured Devonta Freeman (foot) in Week 10, Hill carried the ball 20 times for 61 yards and added a 10-yard touchdown reception in relief. With a favorable matchup against the Panthers in Week 11, Hill failed to capitalize. The popular waiver-wire add gained just 38 scoreless scrimmage yards on 16 touches last week.
In Week 12, the matchup is much less favorable. Not only do the Bucs rank second in rushing defense (80.9 YPG allowed) with the third-lowest YPC allowed (3.5), but only the Patriots have allowed fewer fantasy points to opposing running backs this season. Only three running backs—Chris Carson (105), Derrick Henry (75) and Alvin Kamara (twice, 75 and 62)—have rushed for more than 40 yards against the Bucs this season.
Considering the Falcons have the week’s second-highest implied total based on Vegas odds, it’s possible that Hill will become the beneficiary of goal-line carries due to Matt Ryan’s ability to move the ball through the air against the Bucs’ generous pass defense. But given his lack of efficiency (3.0 YPC) and Tampa’s suffocating run defense, Hill is merely just a flex option this week.
Week 12 fantasy football running back rankings (half-PPR scoring):
RB1: Christian McCaffrey, CAR @ NO
RB2: Alvin Kamara, NO vs CAR
RB3: Nick Chubb, CLE vs MIA
RB4: Saquon Barkley, NYG @ CHI
RB5: Derrick Henry, TEN vs JAC
RB6: Josh Jacobs, OAK @ NYJ
RB7: Leonard Fournette, JAC @ TEN
RB8: Ezekiel Elliott, DAL @ NE
RB9: Aaron Jones, GB @ SF
RB10: Le'Veon Bell, NYJ vs OAK
RB11: Chris Carson, SEA @ PHI
RB12: Todd Gurley, LAR vs BAL
RB13: Tevin Coleman, SF vs GB
RB14: Mark Ingram, BAL @ LAR
RB15: Jaylen Samuels, PIT @ CIN
RB16: Phillip Lindsay, DEN @ BUF
RB17: Joe Mixon, CIN vs PIT
RB18: Devin Singletary, BUF vs DEN
RB19: David Montgomery, CHI vs NYG
RB20: Miles Sanders, PHI vs SEA
RB21: James White, NE vs DAL
RB22: Carlos Hyde, HOU vs IND
RB23: Kareem Hunt, CLE vs MIA
RB24: Ronald Jones II, TB @ ATL
RB25: Sony Michel, NE vs DAL
RB26: Tarik Cohen, CHI vs NYG
RB27: Brian Hill, ATL vs TB
RB28: Bo Scarbrough, DET @ WAS
RB29: Latavius Murray, NO vs CAR
RB30: Duke Johnson, HOU vs IND
RB31: Jonathan Williams, IND @ HOU
RB32: Jordan Wilkins, IND @ HOU
RB33: Jamaal Williams, GB @ SF
RB34: Derrius Guice, WAS vs DET
RB35: Kalen Ballage, MIA @ CLE
RB36: Adrian Peterson, WAS vs DET
RB37: Royce Freeman, DEN @ BUF
RB38: Nyheim Hines, IND @ HOU
RB39: Raheem Mostert, SF vs GB
RB40: Jordan Howard, PHI vs SEA
RB41: Benny Snell Jr., PIT @ CIN
RB42: Peyton Barber, TB @ ATL
RB43: Rex Burkhead, NE vs DAL
RB44: J.D. McKissic, DET @ WAS
RB45: Frank Gore, BUF vs DEN
RB46: Ty Johnson, DET @ WAS
RB47: Jalen Richard, OAK @ NYJ
RB48: Giovani Bernard, CIN vs PIT
RB49: Dion Lewis, TEN vs JAC
RB50: Qadree Ollison, ATL vs TB
RB51: Patrick Laird, MIA @ CLE
RB52: Gus Edwards, BAL @ LAR
RB53: Trey Edmunds, PIT @ CIN
RB54: Jeff Wilson, SF vs GB
RB55: Bilal Powell, NYJ vs OAK
RB56: Tony Pollard, DAL @ NE
RB57: Boston Scott, PHI vs SEA
RB58: Jay Ajayi, PHI vs SEA
RB59: DeAndre Washington, OAK @ NYJ
RB60: Rashaad Penny, SEA @ PHI
Week 12 fantasy football running back rankings (non-PPR scoring):
RB1: Christian McCaffrey, CAR @ NO
RB2: Alvin Kamara, NO vs CAR
RB3: Nick Chubb, CLE vs MIA
RB4: Saquon Barkley, NYG @ CHI
RB5: Derrick Henry, TEN vs JAC
RB6: Josh Jacobs, OAK @ NYJ
RB7: Leonard Fournette, JAC @ TEN
RB8: Aaron Jones, GB @ SF
RB9: Ezekiel Elliott, DAL @ NE
RB10: Chris Carson, SEA @ PHI
RB11: Le'Veon Bell, NYJ vs OAK
RB12: Todd Gurley, LAR vs BAL
RB13: Mark Ingram, BAL @ LAR
RB14: Tevin Coleman, SF vs GB
RB15: Phillip Lindsay, DEN @ BUF
RB16: Joe Mixon, CIN vs PIT
RB17: David Montgomery, CHI vs NYG
RB18: Devin Singletary, BUF vs DEN
RB19: Jaylen Samuels, PIT @ CIN
RB20: Miles Sanders, PHI vs SEA
RB21: Sony Michel, NE vs DAL
RB22: Carlos Hyde, HOU vs IND
RB23: Ronald Jones II, TB @ ATL
RB24: Bo Scarbrough, DET @ WAS
RB25: Kareem Hunt, CLE vs MIA
RB26: James White, NE vs DAL
RB27: Latavius Murray, NO vs CAR
RB28: Brian Hill, ATL vs TB
RB29: Jordan Wilkins, IND @ HOU
RB30: Tarik Cohen, CHI vs NYG
RB31: Duke Johnson, HOU vs IND
RB32: Derrius Guice, WAS vs DET
RB33: Jamaal Williams, GB @ SF
RB34: Kalen Ballage, MIA @ CLE
RB35: Jonathan Williams, IND @ HOU
RB36: Adrian Peterson, WAS vs DET
RB37: Royce Freeman, DEN @ BUF
RB38: Jordan Howard, PHI vs SEA
RB39: Raheem Mostert, SF vs GB
RB40: Peyton Barber, TB @ ATL
RB41: Frank Gore, BUF vs DEN
RB42: Benny Snell Jr., PIT @ CIN
RB43: Nyheim Hines, IND @ HOU
RB44: Rex Burkhead, NE vs DAL
RB45: Gus Edwards, BAL @ LAR
RB46: J.D. McKissic, DET @ WAS
RB47: Qadree Ollison, ATL vs TB
RB48: Trey Edmunds, PIT @ CIN
RB49: Jeff Wilson, SF vs GB
RB50: Boston Scott, PHI vs SEA
RB51: Ty Johnson, DET @ WAS
RB52: Patrick Laird, MIA @ CLE
RB53: Jay Ajayi, PHI vs SEA
RB54: Giovani Bernard, CIN vs PIT
RB55: Dion Lewis, TEN vs JAC
RB56: Jalen Richard, OAK @ NYJ
RB57: Bilal Powell, NYJ vs OAK
RB58: Tony Pollard, DAL @ NE
RB59: Rashaad Penny, SEA @ PHI
RB60: DeAndre Washington, OAK @ NYJ
More Advice From SI Fantasy
—Dr. Roto’s Week 12 Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em to help with your toughest lineup decisions
—Frankie Taddeo’s top streaming options for the final week of byes
—Jaime Eisner’s stock watch tells you who’s trending up and down as the playoffs approach
—Jaime Eisner’s waiver wire pickups: Randall Cobb, Jonathan Williams, Jacob Hollister and more
—Frankie Taddeo’s droppables, with some big-name players you shouldn’t feel bad about cutting
—Bill Enright’s injury report takes a look at who is out how long
—Mark Deming’s target and snap report dives into the data to make some fantasy conclusions
